Just as night follows day – and the January slog follows Christmas – the Porsche 911 Cabriolet has arrived rather swiftly after the coupe.

This is the all-new, 992-generation drop-top, and it doesn’t look in the least bit surprising. Indeed, if your brain is still jam-packed from digesting all the coupe’s vital statistics, there’s not much to learn about here, bar the roof.

That’s a fully automated soft-top – Porsche never had its head turned by heavy, complex folding hard-tops – and it contains magnesium elements to help it keep its shape at high speeds.

It’ll fold up or down below 48km/h, and in just 12secs. Fantastic news for those of us who’ve ever been caught in a sudden rainstorm and had to slow down on a road with a speed limit higher than 48km/h.

Otherwise, it’s as you were with the closed 992. There are just two options for now – the Carrera S and Carrera 4S, respectively rear- and all-wheel-drive cars using the same 444bhp 3-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine.

Both use an 8spd PDK automatic gearbox, at least until a manual option arrives further down the line, when we can also expect a less powerful Carrera and more powerful Carrera GTS versions. Not to mention a Turbo. And a Turbo S…

You’ll be delighted to know the Cabriolet’s no slower than the coupe – 0-100km/h in 3.7secs and a 305km/h top speed if you’ve gone for the more powerful Carrera S – but it’s naturally pricier, adding a hefty premium over an equivalent coupe.

STORY Stephen Dobie

Author: TopGear

Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars, and is the most widely watched factual television programme in the world.